Bundle comprising a tied stack of folded paper sheets

ABSTRACT

A bundle comprising a plurality of paper sheets lying upon another and defining a stack and a tie having a first end and a second end opposite to the first end is provided, wherein a first portion of the tie at the first end overlaps a second portion of the tie at the second end and is connected to the second portion to tie the stack, the first portion being positioned on an end face of the stack, wherein the first portion comprises at least one opening accessible by a user&#39;s finger to grip the tie and break the connection between the first and second end portions.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a U.S. national stage entry under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of, and claims priority to, International Application No. PCT/EP2017/073138, filed Sep. 14, 2017, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a bundle or package comprising a tied stack of folded paper sheets, particularly a stack of interfolded paper sheets and even more particular hygiene paper sheets, e.g., made of tissue paper or non-woven. The present disclosure is particularly applicable to dispenser napkins such as table napkins or paper towels, which are loaded in a dispenser and dispensed from the dispensing opening of the dispenser. In this context, the present disclosure particularly relates to a bundle, which is loaded into the dispenser including the tie, wherein the tie is removed through the dispensing opening.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Such bundle is known from, e.g., WO 2012/173534 A1. According to this disclosure, a user grips a release tab formed at one end of the tie protruding through the dispensing opening in order to remove the tie from the stack and withdraw it through the dispensing opening. Even though this solution provides for a satisfactory ease of use, there is still a need for improvement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the aforesaid, it is desired to provide a bundle comprising a stack of tied paper sheets in which the tie can be removed more easily, particularly when being removed through a dispensing opening of a dispenser into which the bundle was loaded.

A bundle or package according to the present disclosure comprises a plurality of paper sheets. The paper sheets are particularly sanitary or hygiene paper products such as hand towels, paper napkins, facials, toilet paper or other wiping products in sheet form. The paper sheets may be made of tissue paper (see, also, ISO 12625-1) or nonwoven (ISO 9092). The individual paper sheets lie upon another and define a stack. Within the stack, the paper sheet may be folded and even interfolded, wherein any interfolding technique may be implemented, such as but not limited to those described in EP 2 309 906 B1 or EP 2 751 002 B1. When a paper sheet in interfolded stacks is pulled out through a dispensing opening of the dispenser, the immediate next (consecutive) paper sheet is also subject to a pulling force making the immediate next paper sheet partially protrude from the dispensing opening and being partially unfolded. Thus, this protruding part is easily accessible and can be gripped by a user. Hence, comfortable dispensing of the paper sheets from the dispenser is enabled. The stack usually has opposite end faces, a leading end face and a trailing end face. The leading end face is usually defined as that end face facing the dispensing opening of the dispenser. Thus, the leading end face is defined by the first paper sheet in the stack. On the other hand, the trailing end face is defined by the last paper sheet in the stack. The side faces of the stack are usually formed by the edges of the paper sheets. According to one example, the paper sheets have a substantially rectangular footprint so that the stack has four side faces.

Even further, the bundle has a tie, preferably a longitudinal tie. The tie has a first end and a second end, preferably at the opposite longitudinal ends of the tie. In any case, the second end is positioned opposite to the first end. The tie may be wrapped around the stack so as to cover both end faces and two side faces of the stack. Moreover, the tie comprises a first portion at the first end and a second portion at the second end. The first and second portions overlap and are mutually connected so that the stack is tied by the tie. In this context, the first and second portions may at least partly, preferably only, overlap on the leading end face. At least, the first portion is positioned on the leading end face of the stack.

The tie may be a flat longitudinal strap. The thickness of the tie may be in the range of 0.05 mm and 0.3 mm. The thickness is dependent on the flexibility of the material the tie is made of. The width of the tie may be in the range of 10 mm and 50 mm. In this context, the larger the width, the higher the friction between the tie and the stack when removing the tie, which is particularly of importance, if the tie is removed from the stack, already loaded in a dispenser, through a dispensing opening. In one embodiment, the width is smaller than that of the paper sheet so that the tie only covers a portion of the paper sheet. In this context, the tie is preferably located in a center of the paper sheet in a top view on the stack.

So as to release the mutual connection between the first and second portions and enable removal of the tie even through a dispensing opening of a dispenser, the first portion comprises at least one opening accessible by a user's finger. As a consequence, the user can insert a finger into the opening and, thereby, hook the first portion of the tie to pull the first portion away from the second portion and, hence, break the mutual connection between the first and second end portions. Further, the user can pull the tie through a dispensing opening of the dispenser, if necessary. Certainly, it is also possible to remove the tie from the stack before loading of the stack into a dispenser.

According to an embodiment, a cut is provided in the first portion to define the opening. In this embodiment, no material or only little material removed from the tie in order to create the opening. The cut may be a straight line, an L-shaped line or a U-shaped line. In use, one pushes on the first portion at the cut, whereby the finger inserts into the opening and enlarges the opening when hooking the first portion as described above. Providing a cut in the tie to define the opening is the most simple and cost-effective way from a manufacturing point of view.

Also, from a manufacturing point of view, it has been proven beneficial that the cut is a straight line and extends along the longitudinal direction of the tie.

To simplify the insertion of the finger into the opening, either the L-shaped or U-shaped cut may be employed or a further straight cut (cut in the form of a straight line) may be provided in the first portion crossing the cut. Preferably, the two cuts intersect perpendicularly forming a cross. The two cuts may even have the same length. Furthermore, one cut may extend in the longitudinal direction of the tie, whereas the further cut may extend in the transverse direction.

According to another embodiment, the opening is a cutout. In this embodiment, material is removed from the tie in order to create the opening.

In this context, the cutout may have the shape of a rectangle, the rectangle being oriented with its longer leg along a longitudinal direction of the tie. The rectangle may have sharp or rounded corners. In addition, other shapes of the opening are conceivable such as circular, oval, cloud-shaped, etc.

According to an even further embodiment, two of the openings (e.g., cuts or cutouts as explained earlier) are provided, the openings being arranged side-by-side in a direction transverse to a longitudinal direction of the tie. Thus, a web is formed in between the two openings which may be hooked when inserting the finger into one of the openings and exiting the finger through the other of the openings.

Particularly if interfolded paper sheets are used, the first portion may be adhered to a leading paper sheet of the stack. As previously explained with respect to the leading end face, the leading paper sheet of the stack is the first sheet in the stack and when disposed in a dispenser closest to the dispensing opening. Thus, when a user removes the tie from the stack by breaking the mutual connection between the first and second portions and withdrawing the tie through the dispensing opening, the first paper sheet of the stack (leading paper sheet of the stack) is also withdrawn from the dispensing opening. According to one example, the first portion may be releasably adhered to the leading paper sheet of the stack. In this case, the strength with which the first portion is adhered to the leading paper sheet may be so low that the tie automatically releases from the leading paper sheet when removing the tie through the dispensing opening so that only a part of the leading paper sheet protrudes from the dispensing opening after the tie has been removed. Thus, the strength is lower than the friction between the leading paper sheet and the consecutive paper sheet. According to another example, the leading paper sheet is withdrawn together with the tie and discarded. In this case, the first portion may be fixedly (non-releasable) adhered to the leading paper sheet of the stack. Thus, when removing the tie, the leading paper sheet is removed through the dispensing opening together with the tie and the consecutive paper sheet being interfolded with the leading paper sheet is drawn through the dispensing opening to partially protrude therefrom by friction between the leading paper sheet and the consecutive paper sheet.

In the prior art, the release tab always needed to protrude from the dispensing opening to enable removal of the tie. This is not necessary in accordance with the present disclosure. Even further, it is avoided that a free extremity (the first end of the tie) of the first portion protrudes from the dispensing opening for aesthetic reasons. For this reason, the first portion is connected to the second portion adjacent (in close proximity of) or at the first end.

In order to simplify the removal of the tie when the bundle is placed in the dispenser, the tie should be made of a low friction material. According to one embodiment, the tie is made of plastic material, particularly at least one material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene and polylactide. Other conceivable materials are non-woven and paper, which may additionally be coated with a different material, such as plastic material, e.g., any of the materials described above.

Moreover and for ease and cost-effective manufacture, the first portion is heat-sealed to the second portion. Yet, also other bonding techniques such as ultrasonic bonding or the use of glue are possible.

In order to enable the provision of the opening(s) in the tie, at the same time keeping the friction as low as possible, the first portion of the tie has a larger width transverse to a longitudinal direction of the tie than the remainder of the tie. As a result, the surface of the tie in contact with the stack may be kept low in a small width portion and only the first portion, gripped and pulled through the dispensing opening by a user, has a large width to accommodate the openings and enable easy gripping.

According to an example, the bundle is placed in a dispenser. The dispenser may have a casing comprising a longitudinal dispensing opening. It has been proven advantageous that the longitudinal direction of the tie intersects with the longitudinal direction of the dispensing opening.

Further, the dispensing opening of the dispenser may be adapted to the opening(s), the dispensing opening having a widened portion, e.g., in its longitudinal center, coinciding with the opening/-s, whereby inserting of the finger into the opening (one of the openings) and hooking the first portion or, when present, the web is simplified. In the embodiment, in which a web is formed between the two openings as described above, it may be preferred that the web extends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the dispensing opening and in a center of the dispensing opening relative to its longitudinal direction.

Further aspects of the present disclosure may be found in the following description of a particular embodiment making reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a tie according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of a tie according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a tie according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 4 shows a plan view of a tie according to a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a bundle according to the present disclosure with the tie of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows another perspective view of a bundle according to the present disclosure with the tie of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 shows a dispenser comprising a bundle as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals have been used for the same elements.

FIGS. 1 to 4 show different embodiments of a tie 10 that may be used to tie a stack 30 of paper sheets 40(see FIG. 5).

The tie 10 in all of the embodiments is a longitudinal flat strap having a length L. The length L is governed by the height of the stack 30 of paper sheets 40, i.e., by the number of paper sheets 40 to be tied and the desired amount of overlap of the end portions of the tie.

The tie 10 has a first portion 11 having a first width W1 and a second portion 12 having a second width W2. The first portion 11 is disposed at a first end 13 as seen in the longitudinal direction of the tie 10. The second portion 12 extends from the first portion 11 in the longitudinal direction to an opposite second end 14. The width W1 is larger than the width W2. The width W1 may be in a range from 20 mm to 60 mm and the width W2 may be in a range from in a range from 10 mm to 50 mm. A ratio between the width W1 and the width W2 may reside in the range between 2 and 1.2.

Further, the tie 10 may have a thickness perpendicular to the plan view in FIGS. 1 to 4 in a range from 0.05 mm to 0.3 mm. In one example, the thickness is about 0.1 mm (0.004 inch).

Moreover, the tie 10 may be made of any kind of material having enough flexibility to wrap the tie about the stack 30 of paper sheets 40. In one example, a plastic material is used, such as polyethylene or polypropylene. Such plastic material has been proven advantageous from the view point of flexibility, mutual connectability of the opposite ends and a low friction for removing the tie 10. In a particular example, an impact resistant UHMW polyethylene (Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene) film was used.

In order to connect the first portion 11 to the second portion 12 when tying the stack 30 of paper sheets 40, a heat-sealing method is used. This has been proven beneficial, particularly when plastic material is used for ease of manufacture. In addition, this technique avoids the use of glue in the manufacturing process and is beneficial in view of maintenance and cleaning of the manufacturing apparatus. In the examples, the heat-sealing areas are indicated by the hatched rectangles 21 and 22. In order to avoid that the end 13 is loose and may stick out of a dispensing opening of a dispenser and/or interfere with other stacks if a plurality of stacks are loaded into the dispenser, at least one of the heat-sealing areas is located in proximity to the end 13, i.e., at the end 13 or in a short distance to the end 13. Such a distance should not be more than about 15 mm and preferably less than 5 mm.

In any case, all heat-sealing areas 21 and 22 should reside in the area of overlap (indicated at 25 in FIGS. 1 to 4 by the dotted rectangle within the first portion 11) between the first portion 11 and the second portion 12.

In addition, each of the ties 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 has an adhesive strip 23 also indicated by a hatched area. This adhesive strip 23 is located outside of the area of overlap 25 and in use adheres the first portion to a leading end face 41 of a leading paper sheet 43 in the stack 30.

In the examples, the heat-sealing areas 21 and 22 as well as the adhesive strip 23 have been shown as rectangular areas. Yet, other shapes including dots, straight lines, curved lines, areas with straight borders, curved borders or arbitrary borders as well as other geometric shapes like circles, ovals, squares, etc., may be employed. In addition, the positioning and/or shape may be adapted to the respective use.

The embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 all comprise an opening 15 in the first portion 11.

In FIG. 1, the opening 15 is formed by a cut 16. The cut 16 corresponds to a straight cut in a longitudinal direction of the tie 10.

In FIG. 2, the opening 15 is formed by the cut 16 and an additional further cut 17. The cut 17 crosses the cut 16 and is oriented perpendicularly to the cut 16. Hence, the cut 17 corresponds to a straight cut in a transverse direction of the tie 10.

In FIG. 3, the opening 15 is formed by a cutout 18. The cutout 18 has a rectangular shape with rounded corners. A longer leg of the rectangle forming the cutout 18 is oriented in the longitudinal direction of the tie 10. A width in a transverse direction of the tie 10 of the cutout 18 may be resided within 5 mm to 10 mm to enable easy insertion of a finger.

In FIG. 4, two openings 15 are provided. The two openings 15 are defined by cutouts 19, but could as well be defined by parallel cuts 16 as explained with respect to FIG. 1. The cutouts 19 as well have a rectangular shape with rounded corners and with their longer leg being oriented in the longitudinal direction of the tie 10. The cutouts 19 are located side-by-side in the transverse direction of the tie 10. A width in a transverse direction of the tie 10 of the cutouts 19 may be resided within 5 mm to 10 mm to enable easy insertion of a finger. A web 20 is formed between the cutouts 19.

In the example of FIG. 4, it is also shown that the heat-sealing area 22 at the end 13 of the first portion 11 may be oriented in the longitudinal direction of the tie 10. The heat-sealing area 22 may also be located at least partly between the two cutouts 19 and, hence, on the web 20.

In the following, the use of the tie 10 as shown in FIG. 4 wrapped about a stack 30 of paper sheets 40 is described with respect to FIGS. 5 to 7. It is, however, to be understood that any of the ties shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 may be used in a similar manner.

As best seen in FIG. 6, the stack 30 comprises a plurality of folded, preferably interfolded paper sheets 40. The stack has opposite end faces 41 and 42, wherein the end face 41 is considered as the leading end face 41, whereas the end face 42 is considered as the trailing end face 42. In other words, the end face 41 may be the front or top of the stack, whereas the end face 42 may be the back or the bottom of the stack. In line with this, the first paper sheet 43 in the stack 30 is defined as the leading paper sheet. Moreover, the stack 30 has four side faces 44.

In order to prepare a bundle according to the present disclosure and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a tie 10 is wrapped around the stack 30. In this context, the second portion 12 extends along the trailing end face 42 and along two opposite side faces 44 of the stack as well as a portion of the leading end face 41. The first portion 11 is primarily located on the leading end face 41, but may also extend to one or both of the opposite end faces 44.

In this context, the first portion 11 overlaps the second end portion 12 on the leading end face 41. The first portion 11 and the second portion 12 are mutually connected, in the example by heat sealing, in the heat-sealing areas 21 and 22 as indicated in FIGS. 5 and 6.

In addition, the adhesive strip 23 is adhered to the leading end face 41, i.e., to the leading paper sheet 43.

In order to remove the tie 10, a user inserts a finger through one of the cutouts 19 hooking the web 20 and exits the finger through the other of the cutouts 19. By pulling the first portion 11 away from the stack and, hence, the second portion 12, the mutual connection between the first portion 11 and the second portion 12 is broken. In the example, the heat-sealing areas 21 and 22 are broken. Subsequently, the tie 10 may be removed from the stack 30.

The present disclosure is particularly applicable to removal of the tie 10 when the bundle is loaded in a dispenser 50.

The dispenser 50 as shown in FIG. 7 may include a casing 51, wherein a dispensing opening 52 is defined in the casing 51. As shown in FIG. 7, the dispensing opening 52 may be longitudinal. In a further example as shown, the dispensing opening 52 has a widened portion 53 in the center of the dispensing opening 52 in the longitudinal direction. The dotted lines in FIG. 7 represent the portions of the tie 10 hidden by the front of the dispenser 50.

Once the bundle is loaded into the dispenser 50, the opening 15 should be located within the widened portion 53, but at least be accessible through the dispensing opening 52. In a particular example, in which the tie 10 as shown in FIG. 4 is used, it is preferred that the web 20 is located within the widened portion 53 and extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the dispensing opening 52. Thus, also the tie 20 when loaded into the dispenser 50 should extend with its longitudinal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal extension of the dispensing opening 52.

Thus and as shown in FIG. 6, the user can with its finger enter one of the cutouts 19 to hook the web 20 and thereby pull the tie 10 through the dispensing opening 52 out of the dispenser 50. As the leading paper sheet 43 is connected to the first portion 11 by the adhesive strip 23, the leading paper sheet 53 is also withdrawn through the dispensing opening 52 at the time of pulling the tie 10 at the first portion 11 out of the dispensing opening 52. Thus, when interfolded paper sheets 40 are used, the paper sheet following the leading paper sheet 43 will partly be withdrawn through the dispensing opening 52 for later use. This leading paper sheet 43 may be discarded together with the tie 10. Alternatively, the adhesive force between the first portion 11 or more particularly the adhesive strip 23 and the leading paper sheet 43 may be defined so that it is lower than the friction forces between the leading paper sheet 43 and the interfolded consecutive paper sheet 40 so that when withdrawing the tie 10 at the first portion 11, the leading paper sheet 43 is only partly entrained with the tie 10 and after complete removal of the tie 10 partly protrudes from the dispensing opening 52. In embodiments, in which the tie 10 is to be removed from the stack 30 before being placed in a dispenser 50, the adhesive strip 23 may also be omitted.

Even though the function has been described with respect to the tie 10 shown in FIG. 4, the ties shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 could be employed as well. In case of the ties shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a user would insert or press the finger onto the cut 16 or the cuts 16 and 17 pushing away the material of the tie 10 in the first portion 11. Consequently, the user could hook the finger around the outer edges of the first portion 11 and thereby pull the tie 10 at the first portion 11 out of the dispensing opening 52. In case of the tie 10 as shown in FIG. 3, the user inserts the finger into the cutout 18 again hooking the first portion 11 at the outer edges and thereby enabling easy gripping of the first portion 11 and withdrawal of the tie 10.

It is to be understood that the above disclosure describes some particular embodiments, but is not limited to these embodiments. In particular, the present disclosure is not limited to the shapes of the cutouts 18 and 19, the cuts 16 or 17, the dimensions of the tie 10 and/or the arrangement and/or areas of the mutual connection 21 and 22 between the first portion 11 and the second portion 12 as well as of the adhesive strip 23. The present disclosure is also not limited to the kind of paper sheets and whether the individual sheets are folded or even interfolded.

While the present invention has been illustrated by description of various embodiments and while those embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of Applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such details. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The present invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of Applicants' invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A bundle, comprising: a plurality of paper sheets lying upon another and defining a stack; and a tie having a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, wherein a first portion of the tie at the first end overlaps a second portion of the tie at the second end and is connected to the second portion to tie the stack, the first portion being positioned on an end face of the stack, wherein the first portion comprises at least one opening configured to be accessed by a user's finger by inserting said finger into the opening to grip the tie and break the connection between the first and second end portions.
 2. The bundle according to claim 1, wherein the opening is a cut.
 3. The bundle according to claim 2, wherein the cut is a straight line and extends along a longitudinal direction of the tie.
 4. The bundle according to claim 2, wherein a further cut in the form of a straight line is provided in the first portion crossing the cut.
 5. The bundle according to claim 1, wherein the opening is a cutout.
 6. The bundle according to claim 5, wherein the cutout has the shape of a rectangle, the rectangle being oriented with a longer leg of the rectangle arranged along a longitudinal direction of the tie.
 7. The bundle according to any one of the preceding claim 1, wherein two openings are provided, the openings being arranged side-by-side in a direction transverse to a longitudinal direction of the tie.
 8. The bundle according to claim 1, wherein the first portion is adhered to a leading paper sheet of the stack.
 9. The bundle according to claim 8, wherein the first portion is releasably adhered to the leading paper sheet of the stack.
 10. The bundle according to claim 1, wherein the first portion is connected to the second portion adjacent the first end.
 11. The bundle according to claim 1, wherein the tie is made of plastic material.
 12. The bundle according to claim 1, wherein the first portion is heat-sealed to the second portion.
 13. The bundle according to claim 1, wherein the first portion of the tie has a larger width (W1) transverse to a longitudinal direction of the tie than a remainder of the tie.
 14. A dispenser comprising a bundle according to claim 1 and a casing having a longitudinal dispensing opening, wherein a longitudinal direction of the tie intersects with the longitudinal direction of the dispensing opening.
 15. The dispenser according to claim 14, wherein the dispensing opening of the dispenser has a widened portion coinciding with the opening of the tie.
 16. The bundle according to claim 11, wherein the plastic material comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene and polylactide. 